Refurbished laptops are often tempting because you can get much better specs than if you were to buy new. However, we’ve seen a lot of things go wrong with refurbished laptops and generally caution against buying them if at all possible.

The following is a list of some of the concerns we have with buying refurbished:

Limited warranties

You generally will not get a strong warranty with a refurbished laptop (maybe 3 or 6 months). This means if your laptop fails after that short period of time, you’ll be footing the repair bill or even paying for a replacement.

Lack of transparency

You generally won’t know why your laptop was refurbished. This is concerning because you don’t really know the repair job fixed the underlying issues or if you’re going to actually run into them yourself after getting the laptop. The last thing you want to do when you get a brand new laptop is face a bunch of issues and have to get it either repaired or replaced.

Repair quality

You have to be careful that the laptop was repaired by a reputable, certified refurbisher (for example, the original manufacturer). Even still, we have never had a laptop repaired that felt as high quality as the original.

Conclusion

We’ve given you a bit to think about when it comes to buying a refurbished laptop. If you’re still considering it, make sure a certified refurbisher did the job—ideally the original manufacturer. Additionally, make sure the laptop has a warranty that feels acceptable to you.